Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in
Canada/British Columbia

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Nautilus Explorer, Apr, 2011, by Douglas Hansen, CA, US ( Contributor 15 reports). Report 6163.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We had quite good weather, with only a little rain early in the week. The dive sites got to be a bit repetitive towards the end of the week. The visibility was very good for temperate diving, sometimes 60 plus feet. Most diving is scheduled for slack tides (twice a day), with one dive a day done in a spot sheltered from the currents. Most of the dives were done in the Browning Pass area, although we did do a couple of dives in the Deserter Islands group and one at Dillon rock. We also had the opportunity to do one night dive. The Nautilus Swell is a repurposed tug boat. We had one of the "deluxe" cabins. It was quite small with a sloping floor since the cabin was at the bow. The toilet and shower were functional and adequate. Overall, the food was quite good. After each dive, the crew provided freshly baked cookies and hot chocolate, along with dry towels. I would recommend bringing a boat jacket for the boat ride back to the Nautilus Swell after each dive as the wind chill after diving in 46 degree water can be pretty brutal. The majority of the dive sites consisted of metridium anemone covered walls with a lot of nudibranchs and the occasional octopus. A few of the more muddy areas also had sea pens and numerous crabs. Puget sound crabs were fairly common. We only saw a couple of wolf eels and no giant pacific octopus, although we did see several red octopus. Overall, the dive sites were quite impressive, although we did begin to repeat several of the dive sites toward the end of the week.
Websites	Nautilus Explorer
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	California, Bonaire, Curacao, Florida, Cayman Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Hawaii, Mexico, Philippines
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	surge
Water Temp	46-48°F / 8-9°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	45-80 Ft/ 14-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish	N/A
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	All dives were from a skiff that had no secure area or dunk tank for cameras. The dunk tanks on the Nautilus Swell were one flight up from the dive deck as was the "camera table" (small shelf, exposed to the elements with a few electrical outlets).

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Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in Canada/British Columbia

Nautilus Explorer, Apr, 2011,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in
Canada/British Columbia